Voice-placer.



No. 837,996. l 111121111111111 DEG. 11, 1906.

R. D.`Y0UNGMAN. vvom; PLACER. A

APPLICATION FILED JAN.Z5. 1906.

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RAYMOND D. YOUNGMAN, OF NEW THIRDS TO KATHERINE M.

YORK, N. Y., ASSIGNOR OF rWVO- MAYER, OF NEW YORK, N. Y.

VOICE-PLACER.

Application filed J annary 25.

To @ZZ whom. t muy concern: i

Be it known that I, RAYMOND D. YOUNG- MAN, a citizen of the United States, residing at New York, in the county of New York and State of New York, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Voice-Placers, of which the following is a specification.

My invention relates to a device especially adapted for aid in vocal culture.

The object of my invention is to enable a person while singing to properly place, localiZe, or focus the tones and at the same time l concentrate the attention of the singer, i thereby preventing the lack of interest, l

weariness of the mind, and natural inclination of the voice to break or assume the speaking habit.

The tendency of the speaking voice of Germans is guttural, of the French nasal, while that of the Italian is from the teeth. The better schools of singing have ado )ted the tone placing or focusing of the Italian, and the object, point, or place toward which the tones are thrown or centered has been 'fixed in the small cavity just above the gums of the front teeth and in the roof of the mouth.

Students in vocal culture are drilled in focusing or throwing the tones forward in the mask of the face, so-called dans le masque,77 in order to produce musical tones having the desired quality, coloring, resonance, and volume necessary to good singing. rlhe tendency of beginners in vocal culture is naturallyT to follow the speaking voice, and an American student therefore faces a greater task than an Italian, and to overcome the many difficulties and to acquire the proper placement of the voice requires constant and persistent exercising for months and years.

In order to reduce the strain on the singer in the above-described arduous task, overcome the many difficulties, and reduce the time necessary to acquire a good singing voice, I have devised and found the hereindescribed invention to be most efficient.

My invention consists of structural features and relative arrangements of parts which will be hereinafter more fully described, and particularly pointed out in the appended claims. l

Referring to the accompanying sheet of drawings, forming a part of the specification, and in which similar reference characters 1n- Speccation of Letters Patent..

Patented Dec. 11, 1906.

1906. ASerial l\To 297.805.

dicate the same part in the several views, Figure l is aperspective view showing the position which the invention assumes while in use. Fig. 2 is a similar and enlarged view of the device. Fig. 3 is a similar view of the nose-piece detached from the device. Fig. 4 is a similar view of the means for attaching the holding means removed from the device. Fig. 5 is a fragmentary view of the lower end of the device with the ball or enlargement removed.

In the drawings, l represents a thin vibratory strip which is preferably made of springsteel, but may be made of any other suitable material and consists of an upper portion so bent as to conform to the general outline of the human face, as indicated in Fig. l.. The lower end of this strip 1 is curved at an angle and upwardly to the upper section, so that when placed in position for use, as shown, the end of the curved section is capable of pressing against the small cavity in the mouth just above the front teeth, which is the center of voice placing7 under the most approved method of voice-culture.

2 is a small ball made of metal, roughened rubber, or other suitable material attached to the lower end passing into the mouth and rests against the roof of the mouth corresponding to the small cavity for placing the tones. yThe pressure of this ball 2 has the function of localizing and holding the attention of the singer, while the vibratory movement or quality of the strip l measure to some extent the volume of the sound emitted by the singer.

3 is a nose-piece which is provided with properly-arranged extensions 4 4, adapted to rest on any section of the bridge of the nose.

5 is a slot through which the strip 1 easily siides and permits the ready adjustment of the nose-piece 3 thereon.

6 is a thumb-screw for securing the nosepiece in any of its adjusted positions on the strip 1. If so desired, a smaller nose-piece could be made and used in addition to the nose-piece 3. The function of the nosepieces is not only and holding the device in position, but also has the purpose of holding the singers attention and directing the frontal placement of the tones, thereby tending to produce quality and coloring of the tones instead of only for properly supporting-.

IOO

resonance, as in the place of placing the voice in the inner cavity at the section occupied by ball 2.

7 represents any suitable means for attaching an elastic band or ribbon 10, which is adapted to loosely encircle the head of the singer and securely support the device in its correct position and preserve the proper relation of the ball 2 with respect to the interior of the mouth and the nose-piece 3 with the bridge of the singers nose. S is a slot in said attaching means 7, through which the upper section of strip l slides and permits of its ready adjustment, and is adaptable to be secured thereto by thumb-screw 9. The construction and arrangement of the means for attaching the device to the singer may be modified in many ways and forms no essential feature of my present invention. I

From the foregoing description and arrangement of the device it will be seen that I have devised a vocal placer which readily and inexpensively effects all the functions and objects recited in the statement of the invention and is adapted to be quickly adjusted to any person without necessitating any of the parts being removed or others substituted.

Various changes may be made in the details of the invention, and while I .have in the foregoing described specifically one form of my invention yet it will be obvious to those skilled in the art that the details may be modified in many ways without changing in any way the operation of the device or departing from my inventionas, for example, instead of fastening a ball 2 or other enlargement at the inner end of the rod l, as illustrated, the ball 2 or any other enlargement is not essential and may be entirely omitted. I wish it to be distinctly understood that my invention comprises such a construction for the reason that it has been found that a perfectly plain. rod can be readily substituted for that shown and used without materially aff fecting the usefulness of the voice-placer.

Having now fully described my invention,

what I claim as new, and desire to secure by Letters Patent, is as follows:

l. A device for aid in vocal culture comA prising a suitably-bent rod and means for supporting one end of said rod in contact with the upper side or roof of the mouth of the singer and entirely free of the lower jaw.

2. A device for aid in vocal culture comprising a suitably bent and vibratory rod and means for supporting one end of said rod in contact 'with the upper side or roof of the mouth of the singer and entirely free of the lower j aw.

3. A device for aid in vocal culture comprising a suitably-bent rod, and means for supporting one end of said rod on the bridge of the nose of the singer and its other or lower end in contact with the upper side or roof of the mouth. f

et. A device for aid in vocal culture comprising a suitably-bent rod, a ball at one end of the rod and means for supporting the ball in contact with the upper side or roof of the mouth of the singer.

5. A device for aid in vocal culture comprising a suitably bent and vibratory rod, a ball at one end of the rod, and means for supporting the ball in contact with the upper side or roof of the mouth of the singer.

6. A device for aid in vocal culture comprising a suitably bent and vibratory rod, a ball at one end of the rod, a nose-piece adliustably supported on said rod and means for supporting the ball in contact with the upper side or roof of the mouth of the singer.

7. A device for aid in voice culture comprising a suitably-bent rod, and means adjustably secured to the rod for supporting said rod on different sections of the bridge of the nose and its lower end in contact with the upper side or roof of the mouth.

In testimony whereof I afIiX my signature in the presence of two witnesses.

RAYMOND D. YOUNGMAN.

Vitnesses:

ERNEsr I). SEELMAN, ALBERT C. SrooNinn. 

